OHL Announces Top Performers of the Month for March

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the OHL Performers of the Month for March, 2010.

All Weather Windows OHL Player of the Month – Nazem Kadri, London Knights');

Nazem Kadri led the OHL in scoring in March with 26 points in 10 games including nine goals and 17 assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-10. All 10 of his games were multi-point efforts including five games in the regular season and all five games in the first round of playoffs. The Knights won an impressive nine games in March with Kadri in the lineup where he contributed two game-winning goals. Kadri was also named a star of the game nine times including four times as a first star, twice as a second star, and three times as the third star of the game. He was recently named the Boston Pizza OHL and CHL Player of the Week which included a four-point performance March 26 with a goal and three assists as second star of a 6-2 win in the fifth and final game over the Guelph Storm.

Kadri, a 19-year-old from London, ON, is playing in his fourth OHL season and second full season with the Knights after beginning his career with the Kitchener Rangers. Selected seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Kadri currently leads the OHL in playoff scoring with 14 points in five games.

OHL Rookie of the Month – Matt Puempel, Peterborough PetesMatt Puempel of the Peterborough Petes scored 16 points in nine games to lead all OHL rookies in scoring for the third straight month. He produced seven goals and nine assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-6. He played a vital role for the Petes helping them win their final four regular season games to secure sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Four of his final five games were multi-point efforts including the final game of the regular season on March 13 where he exploded for six points scoring three goals for his second hat-trick of the season plus three assists as first star of a 10-3 win over the Oshawa Generals. He would be named the Boston Pizza OHL and CHL Player of the Week for the week ending March 14.

Puempel, a 17-year-old from Essex, ON, was selected sixth overall by the Petes in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection. He finished the regular season with 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points in 59 games to lead all OHL rookies.

OHL Defenceman of the Month – Alex Pietrangelo, Barrie ColtsAlex Pietrangelo of the Barrie Colts led all OHL defencemen in March scoring with 15 points in 10 games including five goals and 10 assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-7. He helped the Colts secure the Hamilton Spectator Trophy for the first time in franchise history playing in five of the final six wins for his club down the stretch. His top performance was played March 2 scoring two goals and one assist as first star of a 6-5 overtime win over the Sudbury Wolves. He would later contribute eight points in four playoff games to help beat the Wolves in four straight. He produced two multi-point games in that series with three assists each in the opening 11-4 win March 18, and again on March 21 in game three of the series where he was named third star of the 6-2 win.

Pietrangelo, a 20-year-old from King City, ON, is playing in his fourth OHL season. Selected fourth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, Pietrangelo produced 29 points in 25 games since joining the Colts after winning a silver medal with Canada’s National Junior Team.

OHL Goaltender of the Month – Matt Hackett, Plymouth WhalersMatt Hackett of the Plymouth Whalers was the top goaltender in the OHL in March posting a 5-2-1-0 record with two shutout victories and a goals-against-average of 2.08 and save percentage of .941. His two shutout victories came in back-to-back games March 5 and 6 including a 25 save performance as first star of a 3-0 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and a 31 save performance as first star of a 4-0 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Those two wins helped the Whalers secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs where they defeated the Greyhounds in five games. Hackett earned the final three wins in that series including a 45 save performance as first star of the game three win 5-3 on March 24.

Hackett, a 20-year-old from London, ON, is playing in his fourth OHL season. Selected in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild, Hackett finished the regular season with a 33-18-1-2 record including four shutouts and a goals-against-average of 2.62 and a league-high save percentage of .925.